Episode Notes
Stephen Sparkes has over 30 years of experience in leadership roles across the financial services tech spectrum and is currently Scotiabank’s EVP, Chief Information Security Officer
and Enterprise Platforms, and member of the FS-ISAC Board of Directors. Over the years, he
says, cyber has become the dominant operational risk, giving CISOs a more prominent
leadership role. That role – and the skills CISOs need to succeed – will continue to expand as
the threat and business environment evolves.
How the role of the CSO has evolved. The CISO’s role is more about leadership, strategic
decision-making, and resource management than it is a security or infrastructure discipline.
Working directly with senior leaders and boards requires communication skills to convert
technological discussions into lay terms and the integrity to take a principled stand and
consistently interpret risk. Still, CISOs’ calculated risk decisions empower the business,
which can be tremendously satisfying.
Regulatory environment: Engaging with regulators is an investment in efficiency. You
can’t time a spot inspection or a rapid horizontal but planning for them – and having a deep
enough bench to meet your obligations – saves CISOs effort and trouble in the long run.
Fusion centers: Threat intel has cross-functional impact, so converging fraud and account
takeover prevention, AML, customer-facing apps, and other teams with cybersecurity
amplifies defense. Scotiabank has a virtual fusion center that rotates leadership between
teams to cross-pollinate knowledge and preserve clarity during incidents.
Moving to the cloud. Cybersecurity spending must increase as threats do, and cloud
providers can out-spend most institutions to fend off mutual threats. Taking advantage of
cloud’s scale – especially if cyber, infrastructure, IT, risk, and corporate applications are
consolidated in the migration – can be both a business and security strategy. Still, moving
data to the cloud can make expenses more variable, requires more control than on-prem
operating models do, and is best done with a coordinated set of priorities.
The next 10 years. The CISO role will become a stand-alone function as board demands
increase, regulations evolve, and technology advances. Leadership skills will become more
valuable and cybersecurity performance definitions will expand – system admins, for
example, may need to become service managers setting policies. Prep by bringing in strong
leaders, empowering and coaching your people, and explicitly explaining new corporate
objectives, KPIs, and KRIs.
FinCyber Today
FinCyber Today is a podcast from FS-ISAC that covers the latest developments in cybersecurity, contemporary risks, financial sector resilience and threat intelligence.
Our host Elizabeth Heathfield leads wide-ranging discussions with cybersecurity leaders and experts around the world who bring practical ideas on how to confront cyber challenges in the financial sector, improve incident response protocols, and build operational resilience.
Amid the clutter and noise, FS-ISAC Insights is your go-to destination for clarity and perspectives on the future of finance, data, and cybersecurity from C-level executives worldwide.
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